Slovak Literature in English Translation

Rudolf Dobiáš

photo by Lukáš Žentel

courtesy of Post Bellum

Rudolf Dobiáš (1934) has been called the Slovak Solzhenitsyn. At the age of 19 he was accused of anti-state activity and high treason for issuing prohibited scouting leaflets. He spent seven years in various prisons until he was granted amnesty in 1960 on the condition of enlistment in military service, during which he worked as a building laborer and coal miner. In the 1970s he won several literary competitions, and afterwards he wrote fairy tales for radio, plays for young audiences, and children’s books. In 1990 he began to write poetry and prose. During his long career he has written many books of fiction, non-fiction, books for children, poetry, as well as radio plays. Alongside writing he has been an activist on behalf of political prisoners, and is the editor-in-chief of the magazine Svedectvo (Testimony), published by the Confederacy of Political Prisoners.